21st Century

At a time when gas prices are at an all-time high and every job counts toward our nation's economic recovery, the U.S. must continue to invest in a modern transportation network. Our federal transportation bill should ensure that goods, services and workers move reliably and efficiently. It must provide options including transit while maintaining our roads and bridges. That's why the Transportation for America Illinois coalition commends U.S. House Reps. Robert Dold (R-IL), Judy Biggert (R-IL)

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that police need a warrant to look at the contents of a cell phone even after an arrest is a big victory for privacy. In the 21st century, a cell phone is not just a phone -- it's a voluminous record of your entire life. This decision says that the convenience of law enforcement is not a good enough reason to expose so much personal information to government inspection. The opinion was notable for its strong sense of constitutional...

I am writing in response to the Chicago Tribune's Sunday editorial, "McPier and more." The article accurately points to the passage of modern telecommunications laws as a high point of this year's legislative session. I have been in the IT profession for over 20 years, and have seen significant changes in the industry over that period of time. Today, all of us depend on a robust broadband infrastructure and no one can discount the growing role of IT professionals in every sector of our...

LONDON -- Rupert Murdoch 's 21st Century Fox is "eyeing a windfall of as much as â¬8.5 billion ($11.5 billion)" from the sale of its stakes in pay TV operators in Germany and Italy to U.K. satcaster BSkyB , according to the Murdoch-owned Sunday Times newspaper. BSkyB has hired investment banks Morgan Stanley and Barclays to arrange the deals. BSkyB hopes to create a pan-European pay TV biz serving nearly 20 million households through...

Kemba Smith Pradia went to Tallahassee, Fla., last week to demand the right to vote. Back in the '90s, when she was just Kemba Smith, she became a poster child for the excesses and inanities of the so-called war on drugs. Pradia, then a college student in Virginia, became involved with, and terrorized by, a man who choked and punched her regularly and viciously. By the impenetrable logic of battered women, she thought it was her fault. The boyfriend was a drug dealer. Pradia never handled...

"The Fault in Our Stars " launched to an astounding $48.2 million this weekend, justifying 20th Century Fox's gamble that summer crowds would show up to a low-budget romance about cancer patients in the height of popcorn movie season. The film eclipsed the $29.1 million take of the week's other new premiere " Edge of Tomorrow ." Combined with the success of last spring's "Divergent," this "Love Story" for the 21st century has solidified Shailene...

The Chicago economy has been on a good run in recent weeks. Two new corporate headquarters - McGladrey & Pullen LLP and Sagence Group - are moving to town, adding to the city's strength in business services. In a big win for the city, Motorola Mobility will locate 3,000 workers in its new headquarters in the Merchandise Mart, relocating from Libertyville. The Illinois Institute of Technology announced a large new innovation center. A recent report showed that unemployment in Chicago...

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organization not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would jeopardize a major opportunity to slash disease and deaths caused by smoking. The UN agency, which is currently assessing its position on the matter, has previously indicated it would favor applying similar restrictions to all nicotine-containing products. In an open letter to WHO...

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - In a bid to resurrect Walter Scott's historical novel "Ivanhoe", retired Scottish medical professor David Purdie unsheathed his scalpel to cut out the early 19th century verbiage and deliver a new edition for 21st century readers. Ivanhoe is a romantic tale of fair maidens, bold knights-at-arms, merry friars, skulduggery, enmity between Saxons and Norman barons, and even a cameo appearance by Robin Hood during the reign of England's Richard I in 1194. ...

(Reuters) - Global warming will pressure sovereign credit ratings throughout this century with poorer, lower-rated countries hardest hit, Standard & Poor's (S&P) Ratings Services said in a report. S&P said climate change will be the 21st Centuryâs second global âmega-trendâ, after aging populations, to put downward pressure on sovereign ratings, which could harm economic growth and government coffers. The report said extreme...

Commuting is a big part of the day for the American worker. According to Thomas Tiemann, the Jefferson Pilot professor of economics at Elon University, we're changing how we get to work in the 21st century. Tiemann, who co-authored a study published in the journal Transportation (May 2012) that examined weekday commuting decisions of full-time American workers between 2003 and 2009, said one of the commuter issues that showed the most change was carpooling. "What surprised us most in...

The best is yet to come. From film to broadcast to cable, that was the theme of 21st Century Fox Chief Financial Officer John Nallen 's remarks during a Q&A session Thursday at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit. Nallen's optimistic assessment came on the heels of Fox's upfront presentation Monday , during which the network was in rebuilding mode, as it reduces its commitment to workhorse "American Idol" and moves to...

For centuries, the defining role of the library has been as a repository of books. Now, in the 21st century, the library faces perhaps its most momentous challenge: Americans are moving away increasingly from the printed page to digital screens for information and communication. Library leaders nationwide are adapting to this shift by reimagining the library as an engaged community center. The role of librarians is being re-branded to reflect their expertise as content...

21st Century Fox and private equity giant Apollo Global Management have entered into a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture that would bring together some of the biggest production companies in TV, including Fox-owned Shine Group and Apollo-owned Endemol and CORE Media Group, the companies announced Thursday. While there is no deal yet, such a pact would put the companies behind hit shows like "American Idol" and "Masterchef" under the control of...

LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox said on Monday that it had held numerous talks about combining the Sky-branded European satellite platforms in Britain, Germany and Italy, but it noted that no agreement had ever been reached. "Over the years we've had numerous internal discussions regarding the organizational and ownership structure of the European Sky-branded satellite platforms," the company said in a statement. "From time to...

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. saw a better-than-predicted 12% increase in third-quarter revenue, the company said. Operating earnings climbed 14%, buttressed by the conglom's television operations and broadcast of the Super Bowl, the most watched ever. On Wednesday the company reported profit of $1.05 billion, or 47 cents a share, which is down from $2.9 billion, or $1.22 a share a year ago. The company said the fall was due to a one-time gain last year due to...

The proposed construction a CTA overpass at Belmont is just another example of misspent public funds and unnecessary renovations. As a frequent rider on the Brown Line, I've never found the intersection of these lines to be particularly bothersome. More inconvenient are the frequent delays further down the track toward the Loop for the various slow zones due to the state of the track or repairs. The CTA justifies the need for the bypass due to a frequent up to three-minute delay while the...